Runaway
by sototallyrandom
Summary: When population control discovered Zoe, they took away Maddy instead. Maddy escapes and tries to run away to Terra Nova, not knowing that her family is there. Will she make it and be reunited with her family? Maybe meet her soul mate? Or will she be recaptured? Die in the jungle? Who knows when you're a runaway.
1. Chapter 1

**OK, so I know that everyone who is already following me is following me because of Pretty Little Liars fanfics, but I got a little bored and decided to switch to Terra Nova for a while, maybe a fic or two. For those of my followers who haven't seen Terra Nova, you should totally watch it! All the episodes are on Netflix. For those of you who weren't following me before, I hope you like my writing. Happy reading! –sototallyrandom**

**(my pll fans, if you don't watch Terra Nova, you won't understand ANY of this.)**

I haven't seen my family in years. A few years ago, the population guys barged into our home and found Zoe hiding in the vents in the walls of our cramped apartment. A fight broke out. They were going to take Zoe to keep our family as four, but they had seen my scores in school and intelligence tests and decided I would be more useful. One dragged me out of my home, the others holding back my shouting family. That was the last time I saw them.

I was put to work in the technology department for the pilgrimages to Terra Nova when they found that I was smarter than two of their top scientists put together. They made me work twenty hours a day with minimal breaks, and I began to become exhausted. I was more of a slave then an employee. They never allowed me to go see my family and I assumed that they never told them what had happened to me. I was exhausted every day and only got four hours or less of sleep before getting up to work again.

I wanted to mess up their portal on purpose instead of making it go both ways, but I would kill many innocents just to piss them off, so I didn't. The pilgrimage time of year was always the worst. I had to work the whole length of it without rest, and there were guards everywhere making sure I didn't try anything.

Two days ago, two months after the tenth pilgrimage, I had finally escaped and ran straight to my family's apartment. To my disappointment, it was completely empty and barren. At first I was upset that they hadn't waited for my return, but I knew that they had to leave. They had probably finally gotten enough money to move to a dome somewhere, without my mouth to feed. I was happy for them. I didn't blame them for leaving because they probably assumed I was dead like all the other children that overpopulated families.

The people who held me in the Hope Plaza technology were smart enough to have several guards on me during pilgrimages to make sure I didn't try to go through, but they weren't smart enough to realize that I was smart enough to start the portal on any given night where I was working alone, with a single guard to watch over me.

And that's where I am now. I'm going to knock out the guard, start the portal, and be the single pilgrim from the tenth and a half pilgrimage. I know I will never see my family again, and no matter how sad it is to leave them behind, I have to. I know they would want what is best for me. I just wish we could have all gone to Terra Nova as a family. All I can hope that the dome that my family probably moved into is one of the better ones.

I turn my head and look at the guard staring at me with cold eyes and shudder. I am going to do this. I am going to escape to Terra Nova.

I take a deep breath. I have to hit the guard in the head with something, but I don't know what. My foot is probably the best option, because everything in here is a necessity to turn on the portal. I need to get the guard's head low enough that I can even kick it, so I scream. The guard rushes over and asks me what is wrong.

"There's a rat!" I squeal. He gives me an annoyed look before asking where. I point down under a section of technology. He gets down on his knees and puts his head near the floor searching for the rat that isn't there. It's now or never. I pull myself together and kick him in the temple, but not too hard because I don't want to do anything more than knock him out unless I have to.

"Sorry" I mumble as his body crumples to the floor. I step over him and frantically start pushing buttons. I rush across the room and move the clear plastic box around the cliché big red button that starts it all. I slam my palm down on it and bolt out of the room, knowing I only have a minute before people get here. I don't have time to stay and make sure it's working.

I go through what seems like endless rooms and turns until I finally reach the bridge heading to the portal that is turned on. The blue electricity-like matter is swirling and mesmerizing me.

I run as fast as I can. I can hear people shouting behind me, and when I look up to my left, I see a scientist starting to shut down the portal. No, no, no!

I look straight ahead and charge at the portal 100 yards away. The scientist has started to shut it down. 80 yards. The shouts behind me get more frantic. 60 yards. I stumble but keep running. 40 yards. The fierce winds whip my hair into my face as I sprint. 20 yards. Someone is catching up to me. 10 yards. The scientist moves over to the red button to turn off the portal. 5 yards. 4. 3.

I dive for it. A weird sensation makes its way through my body and my dive lands in a pile of dirt and leaves. The portal closes behind me. I look up and towering trees are providing shade from the bright sun and the blue sky. It's beautiful. I made it! I actually did it! I stand up and brush myself off only to be hit with a wave of disappointment.

I was hoping Terra Nova would be within sight of the portal so I know which way to go to not get eaten by carnivorous dinosaurs. No one is expecting me, so I'm on my own to try and make it to the colony alive.

**I know it's short, but I just need to see if anyone likes it before I put blood, sweat, and tears into it! (not literally, don't worry) so if you like, review and tell me! Again, for my pll fanfiction fans, so sorry about not giving notice that I'm writing a non-pll fic.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to the reviewers, you really made my day! I don't have anything important to say, so I'll let you get to the chapter. Oh I almost forgot, sorry if there are a lot of mistakes, I didn't have time to edit. Happy reading! -sototallyrandom**

I take a deep breath and look around, still having the ignorant hope that Terra Nova is within sight, that I just missed it the first three times I looked. I look up at the new clean sky and groan, although I can't help but notice how much easier it is to breathe here. There is so much color, sound, and life, unlike the barren wasteland of 2149.

Hopefully the colony is somewhere near here. Of course I've read up on all the wildlife and I know being our here at night isn't a very good idea. Although most of the dinosaurs I'm worried about hunt at night, but I pull out a measly knife that I have in my boot just in case, even though it wouldn't do much good.

I have a few objects of use. The knife I pick pocketed from an unknowing guard. I only have what I managed to steal from guards and citizens as well as things that I have found on the ground. I didn't have any belongings before. I have a box of matches in my jacket pocket too, but that's pretty much it.

I search for any sign of people and come up lucky. There is a worn down path straight ahead of me, with footsteps and broken branches here and there. I follow it, but the jungle growth is making it hard because it's had two whole months to grow back. I soon lose sight of the path and groan in frustration. I jump when I hear a roar from a distance off to my left. It's way too far to be any danger to me, so I ignore it and continue searching for the path.

I feel like it's only been a few minutes, but when I look up I have no idea where I am. To my left there is a large rock wall, my right a waterfall, and every other direction all kinds of jungle plants. I'm running out of time. By the looks of it, I only have about three hours until nightfall. If Terra Nova isn't near, I'm in for a long night. I have two options. One, I could keep walking and hope to find Terra Nova. Two, I could stop now and make sure I have a decent shelter before nightfall. The chances of reaching Terra Nova are slim, so I decide on option number two.

I know that fire scares the dinosaurs, so I begin to find the driest plants and woods that I can. After about an hour, the sun is starting to set and I have a fair amount of flammable things near the large tree I have decided to stay in. I start to lay out all the wood in a circle around the tree to keep dinosaurs away from every direction. When I finish it's already dark, so I get on the inside of the circle and light a few matches and place them in different parts of the circle to get them going as soon as possible, because the screeches and roars are getting louder. And closer.

I find a knob in the wood on the trunk and begin to climb. I finally get to a place I can stay in without falling, but it's too close to the ground to be comfortable, so I climb further until I'm about 15 to 20 yards up. I try to close my eyes and get some rest, but the screeches make my heart race every time they come near.

I shudder, and at first I think it's me until I put my hand on the trunk of the tree and it vibrates along with me. After a moment, the shudders are timed… almost like… footsteps. Oh god. I freeze as I watch a massive carnotaurus stomp past about 200 yards from my tree. One part of me is terrified, but the nerdy part is curious and amazed as the beast that passes by. I'd only read about such creatures, I never thought I would actually see one.

The carno leaves my line of sight and the mini-earthquakes follow. I am left in the silence and stillness of the night. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding, lean back, and close my eyes. A sudden screech makes me jump and I almost laugh at myself for thinking that it would stay quiet.

I open my eyes, but quickly shut them because of the bright light. It never got this bright in 2149, especially in the morning. I haven't fully woken up because when I stretch I lean to the side and slip off the branch. That woke me up. I'm dangling 20 yards in the air and I can't seem to get a foothold, I uselessly kick my legs as I try to pull myself up with my arms that are wrapped around the branch. I'm not a very strong person, so it's a useless attempt and when my arms finally slip I scream as I fall to the ground. I land on my back and groan.

I sit up and sigh in relief when I check and none of my bones are broken. My ankle and back are a little sore, but I can manage. When I finally stand up and brush myself off, I am about to start walking when I realize I should have looked from up high to find Terra Nova. I have a moment where I insult myself with everything I can think of before trying to climb back up the tree. I force myself not to look down when I pass the point where I slept the night before.

I look around and practically yell out in frustration when I realize that I had been heading the wrong way. Behind me, I see a huge circle of land that isn't full of trees. There are houses lining it. Fields of crops. Actual food. I suddenly get extremely excited when I think about living there, meeting friends, going to the school and learning everything there is to know about this place. It all seems too good to be true. I just have to get there first.

I climb down the tree – this time way more careful – and start to head in the right direction. Seeing as I have twelve hours, I'll definitely make it. I stay very alert and continue to be very careful. I don't want to get thrown in the wrong direction again.

As I walk, I start to get the feeling that I'm being watched. At first I pass it off as paranoia, but it gets worse every minute. Just in case, I grab a nearby stick and many long, dry, dead blades of grass. I tie them all onto the end of the stick and keep the match box in my other hand. _Slashers MOSTLY hunt at night. _the thought keeps playing the back of my head.

I hear a rustle in the leaves behind me and strike the match on the box. Before I can bring it to the torch, a gust of wind blows it out. I quickly grab a new match, but a stinging sensation makes its way across my calf and something, probably a claw, pierces my shoulder. I can't do anything to save myself except light the torch. I manage to the tip of the torch somehow and I roll onto my back and am staring into the eyes of a slasher. I begin to shout like a maniac and wave the torch in his face. He screeches and backs off, turning and running into the brush. I only have a few minutes before he comes back with friends, according to everything I've read. I pull myself up, but fall back to the ground.

Blood is running down my shoulder and my leg from painful gashes. I keep the torch burning and force myself to keep going. I have a horrible feeling that I'm never going to get there. Even if I'm out of the area, the slashers will smell the large amount of blood spilling from my wounds. I cringe as I get up, making sure to keep the torch lit.

After walking just a few yards, I know I'm not going to make it. My single option here is to get back to the tree that I know is safe. The colony is way too far for me to make it in the allotted two minutes by the slasher. I may have a chance at getting to the tree though. I limp as fast as I can, trying to keep my weight off my right leg. I am backtracking. **Again.**

I finally make it to the trees and I start to hear the screeches and bushes start rustling not very far away. I take deep, panicked breathes as I use my left leg and pull myself up the first step of climbing the tree. The rustling gets closer and I begin shaking. I had to drop the torch to climb, so I don't have any protection. It's a race. I have to make it **up** the tree before they make it **to** the tree.

I take another step up and pull my body up with much difficulty. I use my left arm to climb despite the large amount of pain it brings. I've hauled myself up a good 10 yards when a loud screech makes my ears ring. _They're almost here._ I practically climb like a monkey when I see the slasher jump out from behind a tree on my right. It runs over and I pull myself up onto a branch right before it jumps. Its jaws snap shut where my foot was a few seconds ago. I get back up and continue climbing because when the slasher jumps it can claw the branch. Three more emerge from the foliage and I scream when they all jump at me. They are much bigger than the first one and one of their teeth nicks my heel. I think I start hyperventilating, but I manage to get another 5 yards.

I finally make it to the wide branch I slept on. I lay on it on my stomach, clutching the branch for dear life with my legs and arms as the dinosaurs below continue to leap into the air. I try to slow my heart. _I am safe. Just don't fall, and you'll be fine._ I tell myself. Until I see my blood dripping to the ground. I sit up and lean back against the main trunk and pull my right leg towards my body, lifting the pants leg. It doesn't look good. I need to do something or I'm going to bleed out. I get out my tiny little knife and cut off the calves of my pants, ignoring the slashers that can no longer reach me.

Luckily I've read every medical book on my plex pad. One of the sections of cloth I cut into strips and tie together to make a long strip. This I tie around the lower part of my leg above the injury as tight as I can. The other I turn into a makeshift bandage and carefully wrap the wound so hopefully it won't get infected before I can get to Terra Nova and have it stitched. Eventually, the reptiles grow tired and leave, giving off little screeches every now and then that fade the further they go. Thankfully it's only been about two hours so I have ten hours before dark for another attempt to get to Terra Nova. I don't want another night out here.

I climb down the tree oh so slowly, but still fall when I'm about 5 yards from the ground. I immediately get up and begin to walk. The bugs buzz around my face and my bloody shoulder, which I didn't bandage because it isn't as bad as my leg, and I shoo them away with my hand. I walk for about three hours, and I think I've actually made some progress in the right direction. I hear a screech that isn't as far away as all the others. _Damn it, seriously?!_ I hear a rustle behind me and turn my head for a split second to see the small slasher, the first one that attacked me.

I break into a sprint as a last hope effort towards Terra Nova, hopping on one leg for a step every now and then. I go much further than I thought I could. I can barely see the colony through the trees. It still looks far off though. More screeches join that of my pursuer, forming a pack. I continue to run even though my leg burns, my shoulder is bleeding, and black spots are starting to dot the edges of my vision. I've lost too much blood. I'm never going to make it. I hear a screech and turn my head expecting to see a slasher. I crash right into something, making everything hurt even more.

Arms wrap around me, and I start screaming, expecting claws or teeth to rip into my flesh.

"Hey! Easy! I got you!" A male voice tries to comfort me. I continue to struggle in my panic trying to run from the dinosaurs without thinking, but his grip gets tighter. The screech comes from a bush behind me and I scream again. The man who grabbed me holds me to his side with one arm and fires a gun at the dinosaur with the other. I close my eyes and cling to the stranger as the gunfire and screeching continues. Eventually there is a final screech and then silence.

"Are you alright?" He asks me. He holds me by my shoulders and looks into my eyes. I suddenly fall to the ground, unable to hold myself up anymore. Embarrassingly enough, the last thing I think before I pass out is _wow, he's hot._

When I wake up, I'm lying on a not-so-comfortable bed in a too-bright white room. It must be a hospital. I am separated in my own room though, and I see two guards outside my door and I shudder, remembering my years in 2149. I look over to find that my left shoulder is bandaged and my arm is in a sling. My right calf is bandaged as well. A man walks into the room before I have the chance to take in too many of my surroundings. The man has white hair and a short beard. He must be Nathaniel Taylor, first to walk through the portal. He lived over a hundred days in the jungle alone. He did way better than I did.

Am I actually in Terra Nova? He walks over to the side of the bed and takes a seat in a chair next to me. I try to sit up, but he pushes me back down by my good shoulder. He looks almost angry at me.

"How did you get here?" He asks me. "Are you a sixer? I don't remember you." I remain silent, unsure if the truth could get me into trouble. "You do look a little familiar though." Taylor says before motioning at the door. Another man walks in. I can't believe it. I'm actually here. Only thanks to the soldier that saved me in the jungle. I wonder where he is.

"Malcolm, did you get the results?" Taylor asks him.

"Yes, I did. I checked the signatures. She isn't from any of the ten pilgrimages." Taylor gives me a wide-eyed stare, and I don't blame him.

"How old are you?" Malcolm asks me. This question can't do any harm.

"16" I say. Malcolm's jaw drops.

"She's too old to have been born here and she didn't come in on any of the tenth pilgrimages." Malcolm restates. Taylor looks amazed. This must be a huge deal to them the way they're acting.

"How did you get here girl?" Taylor asks again. Taylor seems scarily demanding, but also in a friendly way. I open my mouth to speak, but I am still unsure. They both stare at me, Taylor impatiently, Malcolm scientifically curious. I know the look. I've had it before.

"I… I…" Taylor motions for me to continue. At the last minute I decide against it and shake my head no. I don't know what to do. Both men look disappointed.

"We'll come check on you later." Malcolm tells me. "Get some rest." He says as he walks out of the room. Taylor gets up and slowly walks towards the door, giving me a puzzled look the whole way.

"So familiar…" he mutters to himself. I fall asleep without even trying and get some much needed rest.

**Sorry it's so short! Also sorry I haven't been writing as well on fanfiction lately because I'm spending most of my time on a novel I'm co-writing. As always, read, review, and follow! -sototallyrandom**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey again! It's FINALLY thanksgiving break, so I have more time to write! Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah! (Yes, Hanukkah starts on Thanksgiving this year!) If you're like me, on Thursday you're going to be playing dreidel and eating turkey AND potato pancakes! Well anyway, I got a review from the user ****einzel**** and if you're reading this, the answer to your question is in this chapter when the point of view changes to Commander Taylor's for a while (3****rd**** person). Sorry to the people who are huge fans of Commander Taylor, I am not that great at portraying him. **

**Also, so sorry it took so long to update, I had this glitch on fanfiction and it wouldn't let me access my manages stories page for some reason, but I got it to work, so I added this before it glitched again, haha!**

(This is Taylor's POV, 3rd person)

Taylor walked out of the clinic, his mind racing. Something is different about the girl that Reynolds found in the jungle. She isn't from any of the ten pilgrimages and she is too old to have been born here. She had to have come from somewhere. He wondered from where she could have possibly come. Neither he nor Malcolm had been able to get any answers out of her, and he didn't want to push too hard right away, or she might never talk. He is taking the nice approach. Thinking about how he had to work with Malcolm annoyed him. Dr. Shannon is much better with kids, he found this out after Leah Marcos, but Elisabeth is OTG at an outpost doing some research on different species of edible plants.

Maddy's POV

I continue to wake up every few minutes. I can't stay asleep. Every time I close my eyes I see the slasher. Every dream seems just like the real thing, like I'm reliving it again. But this time, when I open my eyes, the soldier is here. He is sitting next to my bed, watching over me. When he realizes I'm awake, he clears his throat.

"Hi. I'm Mark Reynolds, the soldier who found you in the jungle." He greets me. I just nod. I still haven't decided what I am going to tell these people. They could be just like the ones in 2149, I don't know yet. I don't want them to know what I can do, because they could use me like everyone else. Even before I was taken away people used me. At school, people would threaten me and copy homework and tests, getting A's that they didn't deserve. Then I got taken away, and it got worse. I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen here, but I can't be certain yet. Not until I can meet more people.

"Well, are you going to tell me your name?" Mark asks.

"No." I say casually. He laughs. How is that funny?

"Then what am I supposed to call you?" He asks, a big smile on his face. I almost tell him, but he seems too nice to not be faking.

"I don't know." I say. He laughs.

"Somebody's stubborn." He says.

"I'm not stubborn." I tell him.

"Then what's your name?" I almost tell him, I get so close. I even open my mouth and am ready to say the word when Mark's radio buzzes. I can't even tell what is being said, but apparently Mark does and his face falls.

"I'll come back later." He tells me. He puts a comforting hand on my good shoulder before turning and walking out of the room. The scary thing is, I can't wait.

Taylor's POV (3rd person)

After a few hours of pacing, it's finally time that Elisabeth should be back any minute, so Taylor walks towards the front gates with a quick pace. He knows Elisabeth could get the girl to talk. When Taylor gets to the gates, two rovers are within eyeshot. He knows he should give Elisabeth a moment to rest and unpack, but this is urgent.

Jim walks up to Taylor and they exchange short hellos as the gate opens. Before Elisabeth is even out of the rover, he approaches her, earning a questioning look from Jim. When Elisabeth sees him she steps out of the rover.

"I have an urgent situation and I need your…" That's when Taylor realizes it. The girl. He thought she was familiar, and she is. Looking at Elisabeth just made him realize. The two look very similar. Elisabeth raises her eyebrows, waiting for the rest of what he was going to say. "..help." Elisabeth agrees to come after saying hello to her husband.  
After finally getting Elisabeth to come with him, Taylor walks back towards the clinic, Elisabeth following.

"So what seems to be wrong?" She asks him. Taylor takes a moment to explain, sparing no details.

"This morning Reynolds found a young girl, sixteen, out in the jungle. She had a slasher bite on her shoulder and apparently a tail got her in the back of her right calf." He explains.

"That doesn't seem urgent." She says, slightly annoyed.

"That's not the urgent part. She's not a member of Terra Nova." He says, and Elisabeth's eyes widen in recognition.

"She's a Sixer?" Elisabeth assumes. She doesn't know the half of it.

"We're not sure. Malcolm checked her digital signature, **(sorry if the terminology isn't correct, I wasn't sure what it was and couldn't find it in the episodes.) **and she isn't from any of the ten pilgrimages. Elisabeth's jaw drops slightly and her eyes widen with recognition of the urgency of the situation.

"Why do you need me?" She asks.

"We need answers, and you are better with getting kids to talk." Taylor states as they walk into the clinic and walk towards the back room.

**Maddy's POV**

I awake to the sound of knocking on the door of the little room, the only part of Terra Nova that I've seen. For a moment I hope it is Mark coming back as he said, but Commander Taylor walks into the room, but only halfway. I just lie still and stare at him, wondering if he's just come in to check on me. I doubt it.

"I have someone here to talk to you." He says as he steps aside. I gasp. At first I hardly recognize her, after the years of not seeing her it had gotten harder and harder to remember her face. But when I see this woman, I know she is my mother. I _know._ Every single memory floods my mind.

"Mom?" I choke out through tears.

"Maddy?!" She asks and runs over to the bed. Taylor gives us a weird look, but I ignore him.

"Mom." I say again as I sit up in the bed and wrap my arms around her as she does to me, and I cry into her shoulder.

"It's ok, honey, you're ok." She comforts me, telling herself just as much as she's telling me. The sound of her voice makes me cry even more, huge sobs raking my body with every breath. When we finally part, she rests her hands on the sides of my shoulders and smiles at me through tears.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again." I cry. She places a hand on my cheek before pulling me into another hug, being more gentle with my shoulder this time.

"I thought you were dead." She whispers. I still haven't stopped crying.

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" the sound of Taylor's voice interrupts our reunion.

"Commander Taylor, this is my daughter, Maddy." My mom tells him, still holding me against her. His eyes light up with recognition.

"I'll leave you two alone then." He says and gives a nod on his way out, gently closing the door. My mother immediately turns back to me and gives me a quick hug before telling me to lie back down. I do as I'm told, and it's a relief to relax again.

"What happened to you, Maddy?" She asks. I immediately charge right into the full story of everything that happened after I was taken away. She nods every now and then and tears still run down her cheeks.

"Is Dad here?" I ask. "Josh? Zoe?"

"Of course." She smiles and nods quickly.

"I missed you." I tell her, and we both burst into tears again.

"I missed you too, sweetie." She tells me with a small laugh.

"Can I see Dad, Zoe, and Josh?" I ask.

"Of course. I'll go find them." She says, smiling, her eyes still wet with tears the same as I'm sure mine are.

"No, I want to come with you." I say, sitting up.

"Ok." My mom says, wiping tears off of my cheeks.

**Well that was a happy chapter! Next chapter the rest of her family is going to find out that she's alive, so keep watching for it! I'm going to have Mark in it more too. Sorry the chapter was so short, I've spent most of break so far on my novel. I PROMISE to make the next one longer. Well, Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Well I finally finished this chapter! I am sooo sorry. I have had ZERO time. Besides school during the day, I have so much going on! I'm training for a volleyball tryout, I have barrel racing training, I have to engineer and build a Rube Goldberg machine for science class, I have a dog walking/petsitting job, and I'm writing a novel. Thank god it's not sport season, or I wouldn't even have time to go to the bathroom. I finally found some free time and tried to finish this quickly for you guys, so enjoy! As always, happy reading! -sototallyrandom**

My mom wraps her arm around my waist to help me stand up. Once I'm off the bed, I stand on my own. My legs are a little shaky and it stings, but I can at least limp. I really want to take my arm out of its sling, but my mom told me that I have to wear it for a few more days.

She leads me outside, with people looking at me the whole way. I'm the outsider. No one knows who I am or where I came from. I don't mind though. As long as I'm with my family. My mom walks a little too fast on the gravel, probably out of excitement. It's hard for me to keep up on my bad leg, but I speed up and walk as fast as her because I'm just as excited as her.

"This place is amazing." I say as I look around in wonder. My mom just gives me another smile. She stops me when we get to a random little house, identical to those around it.

"Jim!" She calls out. I become giddy when I hear my father's name for the first time in years. "Come out here!" I walk up to the porch with my mom and before I step onto it, the front door opens. My father walks out onto the porch, a questioning look on his face. Dad's eyes move from Mom's to mine, and back and forth.

"Maddy?" He asks, his voice full of disbelief. My mom nods, and Dad's jaw drops. "Maddy." He repeats as he steps off the porch and pulls me into his arms. His strong hug is making it hard to breath, but I'm just overjoyed that I even get to hug him. He kisses the top of my head before pulling me back to look me in the eye.

"Where have you been?" He asks before pulling me back into a hug, just like Mom did.

"Josh! Zoe!" Mom calls out. Josh walks out looking relatively annoyed and Zoe runs out holding what appears to be a toy dinosaur. When Josh spots me, his eyes widen with surprise.

"Maddy!" He calls out. Dad lets me go and Josh tackles me with a bear hug.

"Maddy!" Zoe screams. She forgets about her toy and runs over to me, dropping it and wrapping her arms around my waist. Mom and Dad join the group hug too, and we're all crying happy tears. Over Josh's shoulder, I see Mark walking past, watching me. I make eye contact with him and he smiles before looking straight ahead and continuing to walk to wherever he's going.

"Maddy, let's go inside." My mom says, snapping me back to attention.

"What? Oh." I say, slightly embarrassed. My entire family walks me inside and I have more help than I'll ever need. Once I'm situated on the couch, I am bombarded with questions from everyone except my mom, who already knows the whole story. Where were you? What happened to you? Are you ok? How have you been? How did you get here? I try to answer every question, but they're coming too fast.

"How about we let Maddy rest? I know the whole story and can tell you all." My mother interrupts. I don't want my family to leave, but it is a relief to stop answering questions and I smile at my mom gratefully. I don't want them to leave, but when they do all leave the room to let me sleep I realize how tired I am. Now that I am on a softer couch instead of the uncomfortable hospital beds, I lean back and fall asleep, dreaming of all the freedoms I now have.

I wake up to a screech and bolt upright on the couch.

"Don't worry, it's just a howler." A familiar voice says. I turn and jump in place when I see Mark sitting on the footstool a few feet away.

"God, you scared me." I mutter as I begin to rub my temples. "What are you even doing here?" I ask the soldier.

"Your parents had to work and your siblings had school, so Dr. Shannon asked me to stay here and take care of you." He explains, a small smile on the corner of his lips. I'm slightly disappointed that my family had other places to be, but I get it. They can't slack off just because I'm here.

"What time is it?" I ask, still half asleep.

"Thirteen hundred hours." He says after briefly checking.

"Seriously, what time is it?" I ask, slightly annoyed. He just laughs.

"1 pm." He says. "Your brother and sister should be home in about two hours." He informs me. I rub the sleep from my eyes with my good arm and suddenly blush when I realize how messed up my hair is. I try to discretely comb through it with my fingertips, but Mark notices.

"You look _fine."_ He tells me with a small laugh. I blush an even deeper red.

"Dr. Shannon asked me to take you to the infirmary when you woke up so she could check on your shoulder and leg." He says as he scoops me up into his arms. I almost snap _I can walk_ at him, but I kind of enjoy the feeling of his arms on me and the gentle sway that goes along with his long stride. He opens the front door and walks out onto the gravel path with me in his arms the whole way. I start to doze off again because I'm so tired from years without a real sleep and lean my head against his shoulder.

"Maddy." His voice saying my name pulls me out of sleep. I'm still in his arms, but now we're in front of the infirmary. When he says my name, it sounds much better than it does when everyone else says it for some reason, almost like my name is meant to be said by him. That's crazy. What am I even thinking?

Mark walks into the infirmary and a nurse directs him towards a bio-bed. I've read about them. When he sets me down on it and my mother walks over, I feel a sudden absence where his arms used to be, and a shiver runs down my spine.

"Maddy?" I hear my mothers voice.

"Huh? What?" I ask, suddenly snapping to attention.

"I asked how you were feeling." She says, a smile on her face at my cluelessness.

"I'm fine." I say, but as I do so I am suddenly extremely aware of my injuries. The stinging in my leg, the soreness of my shoulder, all of it.

"I'll just need to check your stitches and you should be good to go." She tells me. I swing my legs up on the bed and wince, forgetting to be careful.

"Mark, thank you so much, you can go now." My mom tells Mark as she begins to roll up the cuff of the leg of the pants I'm wearing. Mark nods and hesitantly turns to leave, giving me one last look before turning and walking out the door. My eyes follow him.

"Your leg is healing nicely, but Maddy, we need to get you some new clothes." She informs me, sticking her fingers through the slash on the back of the pant leg. She moves to my shoulder and carefully moves the sling and bandages. I wince, and she moves slower. I wish she would just do it quickly instead. Like ripping off a band aid. She finally finishes and replaces the bandages with new ones that are less blood-stained.

When she steps away and looks at me, her eyes water and she walks over to hug me with one arm, careful of my shoulder. She wipes the tears off of her cheeks and takes my hand.

"I got off work the rest of the day, I can take you home." She says with a smile. Home. Even thinking the word is nice. When we walk home, I suddenly miss the feeling of Mark carrying me, for a reason other than the pain. Mom is supporting some of my weight with her arm around my waist, but I still prefer Mark carrying me.

When we walk into the house, she situates me back on the couch and brings in some weird smoothie type drink.

"Unfortunately this is the only thing you can eat for a few days." She tells me.

"Because I'm not used to the enzymes in real food yet." I finish for her. Well, I assume she was going to tell me that. She gives a small laugh remembering how I give out facts all the time to anyone who will listen. I bring it up to my lips and when I take a sip, I gag. It's way more disgusting than it looks. Mom laughs, and I begin to laugh along with her.

"I'm suddenly not very hungry." I say as I set the glass on the table beside the couch.

"You're going to have to drink it." She tells me.

"I know, I know." I say with a bored tone in my voice.

"Zoe and Josh should be home in a little while." She says. "I also need to go get some new clothes for you, so I can get Mark to stay with you." She suggests. I almost complain about being babysat, but I would enjoy Mark being here.

"Mom?" I suddenly speak up before she leaves, anxiety finally catching up with me.

"Yes?" She asks.

"Does the portal go both ways yet?" I ask and the tension builds in my chest.

"No, it doesn't, but they're working on it." She informs me, obviously wondering why I would ask such a question. I've been thinking about it for a long, long time. I never wanted it to go both ways because I wanted to escape and have them never be able to bring me back.

"Why?" She asks, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Because when it does, they'll come for me." I say, and her eyes widen a tiny bit.

"I promise you I'm never going to let that…" She starts to say, and I cut her off.

"And I think I know how to do it."

**I'm sooo sorry I didn't have any more time. There might not be a stopping point any time soon and I just don't have the time to write a huge chapter. I'll try my very best to upload a new chapter faster this time. Winter break is soon, so I'll try and write a ton during that time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well hey everyone! I was on a 4 hour flight and decided I would be productive and write a chapter for you guys. I just want to let you know how hard it was to write this. The guy in the seat in front of me leaned all the way back and my elbows had to be pressed into my sides to type! Well, enjoy! And happy holidays to all who celebrate one! Fenrisulven13, thanks for all of your support! Your reviews made my day and pushed me to write this when I wasn't sure what I was going to do on the flight!**

"You… You know how to make the portal go both ways?" My mom asks, stunned.

"Yes." I confirm. I hear a rustle outside the window and jump. "What was that?" I ask.

"It's probably just a small dinosaur or lizard or something like that." My mom answers. Her face suddenly turns into a serious frown. "Maddy, you cannot tell anyone that you know this." She orders sternly.

"Why?" I ask.

"There is a group of people that left Terra Nova, called the Sixers. They want the portal to go both ways and will stop at nothing to do so." She explains.

"If they aren't in Terra Nova, why does it matter?"

"We have a mole." She says, clearly stressed. She walks over to the window and looks out before walking back.

"Whatever you do, Maddy, do NOT tell anyone. ANYONE. Not your father, not Taylor, not Zoe or Josh. Ok?" She sounds extremely concerned. I've only heard her this scared when population control took me away. "If the Sixers were to find out, you could be.." We both jump when there is a knock at the door. She walks over to open it to make it appear that nothing is wrong. It's Mark. My heart skips a beat.

"You asked if I could take care of Maddy?" Mark confirms, his hands clasped together behind his back in his perfect soldier-like position.

"Yes, thanks." She says, grabbing her stuff on the counter by the door. She looks back at me one last time before leaving. "We'll talk later." She tells me. I simply nod. Mark comes further into the house after the door is closed and immediately relaxes out of soldier mode when he sits down beside me on the couch, but not close enough to suggest anything.

"So what do you want to do?" He asks.

"I just want to walk." I blurt out.

"Then let's do it." He says.

"Are you serious?" I ask, nodding down to my wrapped leg.

"Of course I'm serious. Let's go right now." He says while standing up and walking to stand in front of me. He holds his hand out. My blood rushes when his hand wraps around mine and pulls me onto my feet.

"Keep your hand on my shoulder in case you need help." He tells me, and I do as he says.

Mark and I have been walking around for more than half an hour, and I'm starting to get tired.

"Ready to go back?" He asks, coming to a stop.

"I want to keep walking longer, but I know I should stop." I sigh. I look over my shoulder and nervously shift my feet again.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"That girl. She keeps staring at me." I tell him.

"Who? Skye? She's harmless." He says. "She's just staring because you're new."

"No, she's not. Most people just watch for a few seconds before going back to what they were doing. She's been staring at me the _whole time_." I point out, positive that I sound paranoid. I can't help it, I'm freaked out about what my mom said. Something about her screams "I'm the mole!" but I know I can't make false accusations. It could be very bad for me if I'm wrong, especially since everyone seems to love her, and she's Taylor's pet.

"You need to relax." He tells me as we start walking towards the house and away from the market. Every time I look back, Skye is staring at me. I finally glare at her and she looks away, her cheeks flustered. I know it's kind of mean, but I can feel her eyes on my back as well as I could if someone sprayed me with water, and I couldn't stand it.

"Here we are." He says once we're on the doorstep. I gratefully accept help getting back to the couch. Avoiding the furniture isn't easy.

"Your siblings are going to be home soon and I have duties I have to attend to, will you be alright for an hour?" he asks.

"Of course. Thanks for taking me out of the house." I say, secretly disappointed that he's leaving.

"I'll see you around." He says as he walks out the front door, shutting it gently behind him. He forgot to lock it, but I don't think it really matters. It's the middle of the day and there supposedly hasn't been any crime here. I relax into the couch cushions and take a deep breath. It's good to relax. I can't wait until Josh and Zoe get home, we have so much catching up to do. My stomach growls, and I hesitantly pick up the neglected smoothie beside the couch. I drink it as quickly as I can, ignoring the taste. At least I won't be hungry. I lie back down on the couch and close my eyes, letting my mind wander as I wait for my family to return.

When I hear the hinges of the front door squeak, I know I'm paranoid. I choose to ignore it in hopes that I will stop over thinking things. Only a few seconds go by before have to check it. I open my eyes just a moment early enough to know what is happening. Cloth comes down over my mouth, holding back my scream. Another strip of cloth is tied around my head over my eyes at the same time that I am lifted and thrown over a shoulder, so I know there is more than one person.

My shoulder burns and my skin seems to stretch out against the stitches. I cry out for help, but I can't even hear myself, so I know no one else will. I flail my limbs and make contact with something with my heel, accompanied by a yelp.

"Knock her out!" A man's voice whispers angrily. "We'll never get her out of here like this!"

"With what?" A voice right beside my head asks.

"I don't know! Just do something!" I am suddenly dropped onto the ground and I land on my left shoulder, the injured one. I know someone is going to hit me on the head if I don't do something, so I play dead. I hold my breath and relax every muscle in my body.

"What did you do?" I voice asks.

"I just dropped her so I could knock her out!" I try not to move or breathe when a hand presses against my back.

"She's not breathing, you idiot!" They're almost shouting now, and I hope they do so that they alert someone of their presence in my family's home. I can't hold my breath any longer, so I make a last minute decision. I jump up and run towards the direction I believe the door is in. I trip on something after only a second and land on the ground with a crash. New objective. Make as much noise as possible. I swing my legs around, knocking vases off of tables and kicking wood furniture. Before I can do much, I feel an impact on my head, and t feels like cotton is stuffed in my ears. I try to stay awake, but I can't do it. I let out one last whimper before falling unconscious.

Josh's POV

It's finally time to go home, and I walk as fast as I can without losing Zoe behind me. I haven't had much time to talk to Maddy and I can't wait to see her. She looks so different now, more grown up. I get a bad feeling when I turn a corner and see the front door to our house hanging wide open. Maddy wouldn't leave the door open, would she? I run the rest of the way to the house, Zoe yards behind me. As soon as I step onto the porch, I know something is wrong. Through the door I see broken vases, couch cushions everywhere, and curtains out of place. I step in the door, looking around. Pressure builds in my chest and tears well in my eyes. Something has happened to Maddy.

"Zoe, go get mom and dad. Now!" I shout. She runs out the door. What could have possibly happened to Maddy? The only people I can think of who would want her enough to kidnap her are in 2149. My stomach convulses when I step in a liquid and my foot almost slips. It's blood. And I have a pretty good guess about who it belongs to.

Maddy's POV

When I wake up, I cannot see anything. Wherever I am is pitch black. Well, wake up is the wrong thing to say. Waking up is when you become conscious after sleeping. I was not sleeping. I did not wake up. I came to. I pull myself up into a sitting position with my good arm and gather as much information as I can. I am sitting on wood. It is dark. It smells like mud, like it did in the jungle. I can hear random screeches and various animal noises outside. I am not in Terra Nova. Where am I then? A breath catches in my lungs when I think about the group my mother was talking about. The Sixers. How did they find out? If I'm here because I know how to make the portal go both ways, I'm sure they will come in soon to try and get the formula. I won't tell them anything, no matter what. I have to tell myself that ahead of time.

My mother talked about the Sixers as bad people, so they can't have good reasons for wanting the portal to go both ways. Plus, population control will come for me and I will never see my family again. I might not ever see them again anyway, but I don't want the Sixers to be able to do whatever they are planning. I will not give them the formula.

Light flows into the room and someone walks in a door I didn't know was there.

"So you're awake." She says. Her skin is dark and so is her hair, and she has a vicious look in her eyes.

"I know what you want, and I'm not telling you." I say stubbornly. She purses her lips and walks toward me.

"Well good. You can tell Lucas. I wouldn't understand any of it anyway." She snaps. "Come on. Get up." She orders me, yanking me upwards by my forearm. I yelp.

"That is nothing compared to what you'll get if you don't cooperate." She tells me. She drags me around several bridges in the trees. I would be impressed by the buildings if I wasn't scared for my life. There is one door that we stop beside, and she opens it before shoving me in and closing it behind me. I turn and try to open it, but it's no use.

"You're the one who figured it out?" Someone asks behind me in disbelief. I turn to see who must be Lucas. The scar on his head is extremely intimidating.

"What are you, like, fourteen?" He asks, clearly annoyed at my age.

"I'm sixteen." I defend myself. That fact is harmless. As I look around the room, I notice all the formulas on homemade paper hanging on the walls. They are completely wrong. I can't even stop myself from letting out a small laugh, but I clamp my hand over my mouth.

"What?" He asks. "What is wrong with the formula? Fix it." He says. It's kind of annoying that he thinks I would give in so easily. I stand silently, making sure not to look at the formula. If I stare at a part of the formula for a fraction of a second too long, he could notice.

"Let's just make this easy. Tell me the formula." He demands. I raise my eyebrows and shake my head. He's not getting anything out of me.

"Don't make this difficult." He says, his eyes looking slightly deranged.

"I don't even remember half of it." I lie.

"What?" He asks, confused.

"Whoever brought me here smashed my head with something to knock me out, and I can't remember the second half since then." I say. It sounds pretty believable, especially since there is dried blood on the side of my head to help prove my point.

"Mira!" He shouts, and she immediately enters the room.

"Your idiot men just made her forget the…" He starts to say. I take the opening I see. The door is open, and I think I could slip past Mira if I run fast enough. I take off into a sprint and duck under her arm. Once out, I run aimlessly, looking for a way down. I hear shouting behind me, but I ignore it. I'm running through a maze of bridges and platforms with no clue what to do. I finally reach a bridge that is closer to the ground. It's at least twenty yards, but it's the only option. I sit down on the bridge and in a swift motion I push myself off.

I flail my limbs as I fall, hoping I won't break anything. When I smash into the ground on my back, I can't get up. I try, but I can hardly move. My entire body aches, and I think the stitches on my shoulder ripped by the amount of new blood on the ripped clothes I never had the chance to change. I knew Terra Nova was too good to be true. Something that great never lasts long. I force myself onto my feet, now aware of the men running to ladders and exits to get down. I run as fast as I can in a random direction. I don't get far, though.

My injured leg is suddenly pulled out from underneath me as I fly into the air. I just stepped in a trap. I'm dangling upside down by my injured leg from a large tree. I scream because of the pain it is causing my leg. I try to grab the rope with my hands to take the weight off my leg, but I can't pull my body up enough to reach it.  
"I hope you're enjoying this!" I hear from down below. I continue to wail, the stitches ripping out of my leg to turn into a bloody mess that matches my shoulder. Someone down below walks over to the end of the rope attached to the ground to cut it, but Mira stops him. "Leave her a while longer, teach her a lesson."

Anger boils in my blood as tears flood out of my eyes. After a minute of pure agony, Mira finally gives the signal to cut the rope. I suddenly realize that if it's cut I will fall to the ground and be back in their hands. There's no way I'm letting that happen. I swing my body up as hard as I can and grab onto the rope. As soon as the weight is off my leg, I sigh in relief. The man at the bottom has started sawing away at the thick rope with his knife. I race him while climbing up the rope. If I don't make it up to the branch, I've made my fall larger. If I do make it, I won't fall at all and the Sixers can't get me down. I climb as fast as I can, using every muscle in my body.

"Hurry and cut it!" Mira shouts. I hear a snapping noise just as I grab onto the branch with one hand. The rope lets loose and I can't climb up it anymore or I'll fall. I pull myself up onto the branch and look down at the Sixers, proud that I just beat them. But it doesn't last long, because I feel a tug at my leg and realize that they man who cut the rope is now pulling it towards him. I scramble to get it off my ankle, but I run out of time. I grab onto the branch with both arms and scream yet again when he tries to pull me out of the tree by my bad leg.

"Just come down!" he yells. As soon as the rope gains some slack, I slide it off my ankle and watch as it plummets to the ground. I do not want to fall that distance. It could kill me. There isn't a way out of this tree.

"You're gonna get it for this!" Mira shouts. "A few of you stay here in case she jumps, the rest of you, come with me. We're going to build our way from our colony to this tree to get her, even if it takes days." My hands begin to shake. I've only delayed the inevitable and made them much angrier with me. I hope that by the time they get to me someone from Terra Nova will have come to rescue me. I'm sure my family knows of my disappearance now, Josh and Zoe would have gotten home half an hour after I was taken and seen the mess I'd left in the struggle.

Elisabeth's POV

When Zoe had come running to me in the infirmary, I knew something was wrong. She told me someone left a mess at the house and that Maddy wasn't there. I ran to get Jim. Now we're running back to the house, Jim holding Zoe in his arms. When we get to the porch, Josh has his hands covering his face.

"What happened?" I ask. He only points inside the front door. When I walk inside, I gasp. My heart stops and I break down crying.

"How did they find out?" I mean to ask myself, but I ask it out loud. We finally had our daughter back, and she got taken away by another group of greedy people that want her for her knowledge. I wish more than anything that Maddy was born without a smart bone in her body.

"Who's 'they' and what did they find out?" Jim asks desperately.

"Maddy… she told me… that she knows how to make the portal go both ways." I tell him. The 'they' question is automatically answered.

"We need to go get Taylor, NOW, before anything can happen to her." Jim tells me. I agree, so we leave Josh with Zoe and run to get help from the commander, even though I know that something has already happened to her. One of the dishes from the kitchen is shattered on the ground and coated with blood.

**Finally, an almost decent sized chapter! I wanted to write more, but I couldn't type any longer without permanently attaching my elbows to my sides because it was so crowded. The person in front of me decided to lean all the way back for the ENTIRE flight, so I didn't have any room. I'll try and update again later, but in case I don't update for a little while, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope yours have gone better than mine! I only had time to write because I've been sick with a stomach bug for the last 2 days. (ugh, I know) I was in an airport, who knows where it's from. As always, review, PM, let me know what you think! I read every review and they really make my day.**


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